Lex's Ultimate Plan
by Centralia Currie
Summary: Superman is sick, and Lex Luthor is willing to take advantage of the situation, eventually leading Superman to his death. Takes place during season one, right after the episode "All Shook Up."
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman_ or any of these characters.

**Author's Note**: This story takes place right after the season 1 episode "All Shook Up" in which Superman defeats the asteroid. Clark is sick with some kind of Kryptonian virus, which gives Lex Luthor the break he deserves. He's going to take advantage of Superman's illness to finish him off. This story will encompass multiple chapters, and may take a while for me to finish.

**Also**, please note that this is my first fanfic for _Lois & Clark_.

* * *

Clark Kent couldn't remember feeling this miserable.

He was clad in his pajamas and bathrobe, lying in his bed at his parents' farmhouse in Smallville. He wasn't sure what his temperature was, because every time his adoptive mother stuck a thermometer under his tongue, it burst into a hundred pieces. Every bit of him ached, he was moaning in pain, coughing, and sniffling, and his stomach hurt.

"It's called nausea, honey, and I know it's no fun, but it doesn't last forever," Martha Kent said softly, wiping her son's brow with a cool washcloth in an attempt to lower his fever a few degrees. "There are some remedies for it. We can try peppermint tea, or ginger ale, and see if that helps."

"Here, son," Jonathan Kent, Clark's adoptive father, said tenderly, handing over the trash can he had fetched from the corner of his son's room. "If you need to start vomiting, just do it in here, or get to the bathroom, okay? Everything's going to be fine."

Clark just moaned in reply, clutching his stomach with both hands. "Can I have some water, Mom?" he croaked out.

"Of course, honey. Come on, Jonathan. Let's give Clark a few minutes of peace."

* * *

"What do you think is wrong with him?" Jonathan asked his wife worriedly as they headed down the stairs toward the kitchen. "He hasn't ever been sick, except for the time when he was exposed to the Kryptonite, and there isn't any more of that around…at least I don't think."

The entered the kitchen, and Martha began to fill a glass of water for Clark. "Well, I've been thinking," she sighed, "and I think it's possible he could have picked something up while flying through space and stopping that asteroid last week. Who knows, Jonathan. Maybe virus particles from Krypton are still floating through the atmosphere!"

"Do you think we should call a doctor?" Jonathan asked, taking a plate from the cupboard and reaching for plain saltine crackers.

"Why? What good would a doctor do?"

"Not a medical doctor, but a university specialist. Should we call someone from Kansas State, or a specialist from the World Health Organization, and tell them that Superman is sick and he needs help?"

"Well, we'd have to be careful," Martha replied nervously. "I want someone who will simply examine Clark and help him get better, not someone who wants to fly him somewhere and spend months dissecting him."

"If we just call the Metropolis General Hospital and tell them that Superman has fallen sick in Smallville, I think they'll help us out and get someone trustworthy. Metropolis loves Superman," Jonathan assured his wife. "I don't think they'd let any harm come to him."

Martha nodded. "Okay. Well, let's wait a few days and see if Clark gets better or not. Do you think we're in danger of catching it?"

"I don't think so. We aren't affected by Kryptonite, and Clark isn't affected by Earth germs. If it's a bug from Krypton, I think it'll only affect him."

Martha picked up the glass of water. "I just hope it doesn't kill him," she prayed aloud. "Come on, let's check and see how he's doing."

* * *

Meanwhile, in downtown Metropolis, Lois Lane was in a pretty good mood. Clark Kent had called in sick with the flu, so that meant that all of today's potential stories—maybe even the _week's_ potential stories- were hers for the taking. No one to compete for the front page with. No one to annoy her with stories of his childhood on the farm.

No one to distract Cat.

"Where's Clark?" Cat Grant, the gossip columnist, pouted as she sauntered over to Lois and saw Clark's empty desk.

Lois shot her a nasty look. "For your information, he called in sick."

"He's running from me. I know he is," Cat giggled. "He doesn't want to admit it, but when he came over last weekend, we had such fun-"

_Shut up_, Lois wanted to say. She knew it wasn't true. Instead, she just glared at Cat. "Listen, he's very ill. He has a high temperature, and he might be out for the entire week. It's pretty serious."

Before Cat could reply, Jimmy Olsen ran up to Lois' desk. "'Morning, Lois. Where's C.K.?"

"Clark's out with the flu."

"Well, doesn't that make you happy?" Jimmy asked her. "Ladies and gentlemen, this week's featured front-page reporter is…_Lois Lane_!"

Lois was happy, but deep down, she was still suffering a pang of guilt. _I hope he isn't suffering too much_, she prayed

"Lane!" Perry White exclaimed, hurrying up to Lois' desk. "Lane, I want you down at City Hall right away. Lex Luthor is giving a press conference on his new solar energy plant. Very important stuff. He's going to use the sun to generate power…no more nuclear waste! This is going to be very big for Metropolis!"

"Can I go, Chief?" Jimmy asked hopefully.

"No, Olsen, I need you here. My desk chair is wobbly again, and I need you to tighten the screws for me. Plus, someone needs to fix my broken coffeepot."

"I'll leave right away," Lois promised.

As Cat sauntered back to her desk to begin working on the gossip column, and Jimmy followed White back to his office, Lois grabbed her purse. It was time to get a story-

-without the threat of competition from Kent.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: Remember, I don't own any of these characters.

* * *

Martha Kent nervously picked up the phone and dialed the Metropolis General Hospital. Her husband was busy attending to Clark in the bathroom.

"Hello...yes, my name is Martha Kent, I'm calling from Smallville, and this is an emergency," Martha said quietly. "Superman was flying around the area, and he crash-landed on our farm. He's very sick, he's running a fever and vomiting. I think he's suffering some kind of virus." She paused. "Well, he obviously needs some sort of medical attention, and you're the biggest hospital around, so I figured you'd be able to help him. My husband and I thought that you might even be able to call in someone else who has more expertise."

Jonathan entered the kitchen and began to pour a glass of ginger ale for his son. Martha, who had been panicking twenty minutes earlier, looked very much relieved as she listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone. Tears of joy were in her eyes as she thanked whoever it was and hung up the phone.

"Jonathan, good news," Martha told her husband anxiously. "The Metropolis General Hospital is sending a helicopter. They're going to airlift Clark to the hospital to treat him. We'd better get him into his Superman suit."

"I don't think we can, Martha. He's so ill he can't even support his own weight."

"How's he doing?"

"Still in the bathroom, the poor boy. He's stopped vomiting, but he's curled up by the tub. He's too weak to make it back to bed."

"I think between the two of us, we can help him. Let's carry him back to bed and then dress him in his costume. The helicopter will be here within the hour."

* * *

Lois may have been excited about reporting on a story by herself, but going to a Luthor press conference was more nerve-wracking than exciting. Lex was always trying to ask her out, and it wasn't easy for Lois to say that she preferred the arms of Superman to the arms of Lex.

Standing in the very back row of the press conference with her tape recorder running, Lois was scribbling furiously while other reporters were asking all sorts of questions about Lex's new solar energy plant.

"The best thing about solar energy is no waste!" Lex exclaimed enthusiastically. "It's a completely clean facility that will give us power and energy without any kind of environmental danger."

A reporter that Lois recognized from a rival newspaper raised her hand. "But what about on cloudy days? How will Metropolis get power?"

"Excellent question! Well, LexCorp has built a backup generator that will provide artificial sunlight-"

Lois sighed. Lex was handsome, but she could only tolerate so much of his fake sweetness. She wanted to raise his hand and ask him if there were anything in the new plant to hurt Superman.

But sadly, that was one question she was probably going to have to wait to have answered.

* * *

The doctors who had arrived with the helicopter loaded Superman onto a stretcher and strapped him in.

"I'm sorry if I made too much of a mess, M-Mrs. Kent," Superman said, slurring some of his words together as the stretcher was loaded back onto the helicopter. Martha was relieved that Clark had remembered to call her "Mrs. Kent" instead of "Mom" around the doctors.

"It's okay, Superman," Martha assured her son. "When we're sick, we can't help it. Mr. Kent and I just want you to go to Metropolis and get better."

"You will be able to help him, won't you?" Jonathan asked one of the doctors.

"We sure hope so," the doctor told him. "We plan to draw some of his blood, then fly in a team of experts to look at it. Hopefully, some of the techniques we use to bring down fevers and quell nausea will also work on Superman."

"I want to come back to Smallville," Superman said, still slurring his words. "I want to see Mr. and Mrs. Kent again, to thank them for their kindness."

"Superman, you're delirious. Just lay back and rest," a female doctor soothed him. "We're going to take off in a few minutes."

Tears in her eyes, Martha waved goodbye to her son. As the helicopter took off, her husband turned to her. "Don't worry, Martha," Jonathan said, reaching for her hand and giving it a tight squeeze. "Let's clean up the mess Clark made when he threw up in the sink, and then catch the next train to Metropolis. We'll stay at Clark's apartment."

Martha nodded. "Okay."

* * *

In Metropolis, Lois was busy typing up the solar plant story when she heard Perry White shrieking in his office.

"GREAT SHADES OF ELVIS! Lane, Olsen, get in here QUICK!"

Lois stood up and raced to the Chief's office, Jimmy at her heels. "What is it, Chief?" she asked him.

Perry was just staring at the television, where a female newscaster was giving in a live report. "The helicopter carrying Superman will be landing in about ten minutes," the newscaster reported, looking anxiously into the camera. "Superman is apparently too weak to fly himself, and had to rely on a helicopter to seek medical attention. Insiders say he is probably suffering from a Kryptonian virus he picked up out in space while defeating the asteroid last week-"

"Well, _don't just stand there_!" Perry White shrieked at Lois. "_Get going_! Olsen, take your camera and go with her!"

"Superman's sick!" Jimmy yelped as the pair rushed out of White's office. "I sure hope they can help him down at the hospital!"

Lois was fighting back tears as she practically crashed into her desk and frantically grabbed her purse. "So do I," she wept. "Come on, Jimmy. I want to know _how_ this happened, and _when_ he's getting better!"

Unluckily for them, Perry White hadn't been the only person who had caught the news report. At the very moment Lois and Jimmy were leaving the _Daily Planet_ building, Lex Luthor was shut up in his penthouse, sipping coffee in his office and smiling as he watched the panicking newswoman report on an ill Superman.

"Superman's sick, huh?" Luthor asked aloud, a smile creeping up on his face. He paused for a few moments, and then the smile broke out into laughter. "This day just gets better and better!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: Remember, I don't own any of these characters.

* * *

Clark Kent, dressed as Superman, desperately wanted his parents by his side as he lay in his bed at the Metropolis General Hospital. He knew that they'd make their way to Metropolis, but what would ask the doctors for? _I want Mr. and Mrs. Kent to be allowed to visit me in the hospital, because they helped me out so much in Smallville, and I know they're concerned?_ That sounded downright silly.

The doctors had kept Clark in his Superman suit, simply slipping a hospital gown over him. They had bundled him up in blankets to try to break his fever, and drawing his blood had been easier than anticipated because he was so weak. Clark had had to throw up a few times, and the doctors had responded by sticking an IV needle in his arm to try and stop his nausea. So far it wasn't working, but it probably took a while to help.

_I'm going to be away from the office for weeks_, Clark thought miserably as a nurse took his blood pressure. _I hope Lois and the Chief can believe that I've caught the flu. Does it usually last for several weeks_?

"Superman, we're flying in some of the best biologists in the country to help analyze your blood," the nurse assured him, squeezing his hand. "Hopefully, we'll know what's wrong with you very quickly. You'll be your old self again in no time."

Another nurse placed a glass of water beside his hospital bed, turned out the lights in his room, and told him to get some sleep. Clark lay back in his hospital bed, still sweaty from a fever and nauseous from stomach pains. Whenever he was emotionally upset, Clark always had the same dream: a beautiful woman with long wavy hair rocking him to sleep. He took it as a sign from his late parents on Krypton, assuring him that everything would be all right.

Clark hoped for the dream again as he was settled in his hospital bed.

* * *

"Superman is fast asleep," Dr. Miller, head of the infectious diseases department at the Metropolis General Hospital, announced as he addressed the press. "He has arrived here at the hospital, and preliminary tests have been completed. He is now resting in his private room."

"What symptoms is he suffering from?" a reporter from a local television station yelled out.

"Superman is suffering from a high fever, nausea and vomiting, body aches, and cold symptoms. Also, he can't fly, and his super strength seems to be gone. We're almost certain it's a viral infection, but his only his bloodwork will be able to tell us that for sure," Dr. Miller replied.

Lois raised her hand. "When will Superman be released from the hospital?" she asked.

"He will be released as soon as we know what's causing his symptoms and he feels better enough to fly home."

"Who called in and told you that Superman was sick?" a reporter from a rival newspaper asked.

_Yeah?_ Lois asked. Knowing information like that could help her readers find out more about Superman's home life.

"Superman was apparently flying around Smallville when he fell sick at the home of Jonathan and Martha Kent," Dr. Miller told his audience. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent called the hospital at once."

_Jonathan and Martha?_ Clark's _parents?_ Lois thought, alarmed. Immediately, she turned around and tried to scope out the nearest payphone, but there wasn't one to be found.

She hoped this conference would hurry up and end soon. She had an important phone call to make.

* * *

Lex had a horrible, awful idea.

He knew that Superman could never resist a rescue. If a cat was stuck in a tree, the man dropped everything he was doing to help out. Additionally, he also knew that Superman was very sick.

"If I stage some sort of crisis," he thought aloud, "and he can't resist…and it takes a lot of strength out of him, when he's weak enough already…_bye-bye, Superman_!" he exclaimed gleefully.

"What am I going to stage?" he wondered, looking frantically down at his desk. _What did Superman love the most?_

Then he saw it. It was on the corner of his desk: yesterday's edition of the _Planet_. The banner headline read, LEXCORP TO ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR NEW POWER PLANT, by Lois Lane.

_Lois Lane_. Superman could never resist a woman in trouble. But how was he going to place her in trouble?

Lex picked up the phone beside his desk and started to dial.

* * *

"Martha, what happened?" Lois asked. She couldn't help the panic in her voice as she spoke to Clark's parents over the phone back at the office.

"Everything's going to be okay, Lois. We hope," Martha added. "Jonathan and I were getting ready to go to Metropolis to see Clark when Superman stopped by—he recognized us from the time he stopped that awful government man from burning our barn down—and he asked us if he could lie down for a while, because he wasn't feeling well. Then he got _very_ sick, and we needed to call for help."

_Trask_, thought Lois angrily as she remembered the entire brouhaha that had taken place at the Kents' farm weeks earlier. "Do you think Superman's going to be all right?"

"I think so. He probably just caught some virus from his home planet when he was flying around in space last week."

Lois paused. "Martha, Have you spoken to Clark at all? I haven't talked to him. I was just told by Perry that he called in sick this morning."

"Clark's going to be fine. He's just sick with a case of the flu," Martha assured her, even though Martha felt terrible for not telling the entire truth. "But he _does_ live alone, and he does need some help taking care of himself. Jonathan and I have to leave for the train station pretty soon."

"Would you like me to stop by and check on him?"

"_Heavens no_, Lois!" Martha was appalled at the very idea. "If you caught Clark's flu, I'd never forgive myself!"

"Well, does he need anything? Would he feel better if I brought him some soup?"

"Thanks, honey, but I don't think he's keeping much down. Maybe you can stop by in a few days. I think he'll be out all week."

Even though Martha couldn't see her, Lois nodded. "Okay. Well, Martha, if Clark needs _anything,_ or if you hear any news about Superman, just call me, okay?"

"Of course, Lois. You just take care of yourself. We don't want _you_ getting sick."

Lois said goodbye to Clark's parents and hung up the phone. She had barely placed the receiver back on her desk when the phone rang again. "Hello?"

"Hello, Lois? This is Lex Luthor. You still owe me that date." Lois had postponed a date with Lex several weeks earlier, and they had never rescheduled. "Are you busy this weekend?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: Remember, I don't own any of these characters.

* * *

By his third day in the hospital, Clark Kent was absolutely depressed. He missed his parents, he missed his work at the _Daily Planet_, and he still couldn't keep anything down. The doctors and nurses were very friendly, trying to make him as comfortable as possible, but the only way that Clark would be comfortable was if he was in his own apartment again, perfectly healthy, settling down to sleep in his own bed.

Luckily, his fever was going down, and even more luckily, the expert scientists that the hospital had flown in from New York and Washington, D.C. had been very quick to determine what was wrong with Superman. As it turned out, it wasn't a virus after all; it was Kryptonite poisoning.

"Kryptonite poisoning?" Clark asked weakly, confused. He was lying in his bed at the hospital, wearing a hospital gown over his Superman suit as usual. "But I haven't been around any Kryptonite."

"Well, Superman, along with your blood, we also analyzed your vomit, and we found traces of Kryptonite in your vomit," a female scientist with dark hair tied up in a severe bun told him as he rested in bed. "We've hypothesized that you inhaled particles of Kryptonite last week as you flew into space to stop the asteroid."

Superman nodded. "I guess that makes sense. But why didn't it affect me right away?"

"I don't know, Superman. We can't explain the delayed reaction. The only thing we know for sure is that your system will probably keep expelling the Kryptonite out through your vomit until you're all better. But the worst is over. Your fever's going down fast, although it may be a while until you regain your powers."

"So I'll survive?" he asked, smiling.

"Of course."

"When I can leave the hospital?"

"Dr. Miller wants you here for at least another day," a nurse who was taking his heartbeat with a stethoscope told him. "Then you'll be released on strict orders to rest until you regain your strength."

"Sounds good to me," Superman remarked weakly, thinking of his cozy apartment in Metropolis.

* * *

Leaving the hospital was tricky. Clark was still too weak to fly, and he couldn't take a taxi home without somebody realizing Superman's real identity.

"Your father and I are going to pick you up, honey. We'll tell everyone we're nursing you back to health at our farm in Smallville," Martha Kent told her son over the phone. "And don't worry about work. I told Perry the truth, basically. You're very ill and you've been in the hospital."

"Thanks, Mom," Clark told his mother over the phone. He had to keep an eye on his hospital room door to make sure that nobody was looking or listening in at Superman on the phone.

"Your father and I will take good care of you until you're better. I promise," Martha encouraged her son. "I feel like every other mother who has to take care of a sick child. I just wish there was some kind of cure to flush that nasty Kryptonite out of your system. Some kind of home remedy I could fix you."

"It's okay, Mom. The doctors said I'll survive."

"And that's quite a relief. I don't know what your father and I would do if we our boy!"

Clark paused. "But Mom, what if Lois finds something out?" he asked worriedly. "I know she's going to try to follow my trail as Superman. Superman being sick is a huge story for the _Planet_."

"I'll tell Lois to respect your privacy, and she'll understand. Clark, don't you worry about a _thing_."

Luckily, Superman had retreated to the back of Lois' mind as she prepared for her date with Lex.

_I'm actually pretty glad Clark is out sick_, Lois thought as she fluffed up her hair in her bathroom mirror. _I wouldn't want him to be bored to death by my rambling about Lex._

Lois went out into her bedroom and checked her makeup at her vanity table. She was just spritzing on some of her best perfume when her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Lois, it's Perry White. Superman is leaving the hospital. I want you to get down there and cover the story right away."

"But Chief, I-"

"No buts. The public wants to know about this, Lois." Without any more words, the Chief hung up.

Lois sighed. She didn't want to postpone another date with Lex, and she knew that the Chief wanted that story. She cursed her thoughts from ten minutes earlier. Why did Clark have to be sick? Why couldn't _he_ be available to cover the story?

Reluctantly, Lois picked up the phone and called Jimmy Olsen. "Jimmy, it's Lois. I need you to do me a huge favor."

"Name it, but it'll cost you," Jimmy told her, grinning.

"No, it won't. You'll be so thrilled to do this for me that I won't owe you anything." She paused. "How would you like to go down to the hospital and call in the story of Superman being released?"

Even though Lois couldn't see, Jimmy's eyes went wide. "Boy, _would I_!" he exclaimed. "Would I get my own byline and everything?"

"That's part of the favor. You'll have to share a byline with me."

Jimmy sighed. "All right. I guess so. But I'll be right down, and I'll get plenty of pictures."

"Thanks, Jimmy. Have fun." Lois hung up the phone and went back to her mirror. She wouldn't dare risk putting off another date with Lex.

* * *

Lex Luthor arrived at Lois' apartment with a bouquet of pink roses, wearing his charming smile. After helping Lois put the roses in a vase, he assisted her in putting on her coat.

"Tonight will be a night you won't ever forget," he told her, smiling gently.

Lois had a grin a mile wide across her face as Lex walked her down to his limousine. He helped her into the limo, shut the door, and went around to the driver's door.

He tapped on the glass, and the limo driver rolled his window down. "Yes, sir?"

"To LexCorp," he told the driver briskly.

The driver frowned. "Yes, Mr. Luthor."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: Remember, I don't own any of these characters.

* * *

Dressed in his pajamas, Clark Kent lay on the sofa in his Metropolis apartment, an ice pack to his aching forehead. Martha was taking his temperature, and Jonathan was pouring his son a glass of ginger ale.

"How are you feeling, Clark?" Martha asked.

Clark shrugged. "A little better. I think."

"Hopefully, a few more days at home will help your body immensely," Martha replied, taking the thermometer out of her son's mouth. She held it up to study it. "Good, it's pretty much normal," she remarked. "How's your nausea?"

"It comes and goes," Clark admitted.

"Hang in there, son. You can't expect to get better overnight," Jonathan told Clark as he handed his son some ginger ale. The phone rang.

"I'll get it, honey," Martha said, patting her son's feet through a pile of blankets. She picked up the phone on the coffee table. "Hello?...why, hello, Jimmy!" She paused. "Why aren't I back in Smallville? Oh, Clark still needs help, so I decided to remain in Metropolis with him. Clark's father is nursing Superman back to health on our farm," she fibbed.

Clark listened intently. It was Jimmy Olsen, from the office. What did he want? Was he just checking in to see if Clark was feeling all right?

"Clark's feeling a lot better," Martha told her son's colleague. "He's just had a flu bug that's hit him really hard. He'll be back in the office next week." She paused. "No, I haven't. But let me ask Clark." She covered the receiver with her hand and turned to her son. "Clark, have you heard from Lois lately? Jimmy says nobody at the _Planet_ has heard from her since yesterday afternoon, and they can't get a hold of her."

Clark shook his head. "No, Mom."

"He hasn't, Jimmy, but I'll try to call her and see if she's home," Martha told Jimmy over the phone. She paused again. "All right. Thanks, Clark appreciates it. Goodbye."

Clark lay back on the sofa, ice pack still to his forehead. "Mom, I don't feel so well," he moaned.

"Is your nausea coming back, honey? Do you need me to help you to the bathroom?" Martha asked her son anxiously. "Jonathan, get Clark a bucket."

"No, Mom, it isn't the illness," said Clark quickly. "It's this thing with Lois. Something's wrong—I just know it."

* * *

Lois Lane, meanwhile, was being held captive in a sub-basement of LexCorp.

She had been brought to LexCorp just last night, and while Lex prepared her a nice dinner up on the roof, Lois was instructed to wait in his penthouse sitting room. Everything was going fine until two men wearing all black and ski masks came out of nowhere, gagged her, and tied her up. She had tried screaming for Lex, but it was no use. She had been bound tight.

Lois' kidnappers had carried her downstairs and threw her into a corner of the sub-basement. She was under heavy guard and had been given no food. She was starving and weak, and she really needed to go to the bathroom. She didn't know what to do.

_Superman, if I ever needed your help, now's the time, _Lois thought to herself anxiously as she saw a flash of metal out of the corner of her eye. One of her so-called bodyguards was approaching her with a pistol.

_Please help me, Superman, _Lois begged. _I'm scared, I'm alone, and I don't know what's going on. Help!_

* * *

So far, Lex's plan was going perfectly. His two assistants had kidnapped Lois, and they were holding her in the basement of LexCorp. One of them had just called up to say that they were all ready to move her downtown.

It was time for phase two. Lex had already placed a call to the police, pretending to be scared out of his mind that his date had been kidnapped. Now, it was time to call the Daily Planet. Above all else, the goal of this plan was to get rid of Superman, but it would be nice to get some money out of the deal.

"Perry White, please," Lex said, disguising his voice as he spoke to the operator.

As soon as Perry White answered the phone, Lex spoke quickly. "You don't know who I am," he told the Planet's editor is a strange, husky voice, "but I have your star reporter, Lois Lane. And unless I get paid $500 million, she's going to die. Soon."

* * *

Inspector Henderson was sitting across from Perry White at his desk.

"First of all, do you have the money?" he asked the Planet's editor. White had called him almost instantly after Lois' kidnapper had hung up on him. The kidnapper had given specific demands as to the dropoff location for the money. _Superman_ had to deliver the $500 million to a remote location just outside of Metropolis. If the kidnappers detected any funny business, and Lane would be killed immediately. But White felt that he didn't have a choice; he had to get Henderson involved.

White sighed. "No. This paper isn't even _worth_ $500 million! And even if we did pay it, how do we know that they're going to release Lois?" He paused. "And then there's the business about Superman. This is hopeless, Henderson. Superman's very ill; he can barely move a muscle! How's he going to deliver the money for us, if we had it? He can't even fly, according to what we printed in our morning edition!"

"Well, I suggest you try," Henderson said. "Let's just play along for now, or else they really will kill Lois. Call Clark Kent if you can, and have him get in touch with Superman. And try to round up the money."

"Kent's out sick this week, but he can probably get through to Superman," White confirmed. "It's worth a try."

* * *

Clark was sleeping when his mother woke him up, saying that there was a very important phone call for him. His stomach felt awful. _It feels like there's still some Kryptonite in my system, _he thought weakly as he reached for the phone his mother was handing over. "Hello?" he asked weakly.

"Kent, it's White. How are you feeling?"

"Sick," Clark admitted truthfully.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Kent, but this is an emergency. We need you to contact Superman. Lois is in trouble."

Clark's heart began to pound. "But Chief, Superman's just as sick as I am. He's laid up on a farm in Kansas, recovering from Kryptonite poisoning."

"I know, Kent, but like I said, we have no other choice here. Unless Superman delivers some ransom money to this abandoned building by tomorrow morning, your partner is going to be murdered."

_Lois!_ Clark panicked. He swallowed painfully. "I'll see what I can do," he croaked out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: Remember, I don't own any of these characters.

* * *

"No, Clark," said Martha Kent firmly. "Absolutely not."

"But Mom, if I don't go, they're going to kill Lois," Clark Kent told his mother as he pulled on his Superman suit. Due to his lack of strength, he couldn't exactly change into it in the blink of an eye. "I'm sick, I know, but I can't sit back and do nothing."

"Clark, honey, this isn't like me trying to keep you home from school when you have a cold," Martha said calmly. "You're very seriously ill, and you almost died. You have Kryptonite running through your system. If you leave this apartment and try to interact in your regular way, you're going to make yourself very sick and weak. You'll die."

"But Mom, there's always a chance I'll live," Clark reasoned with his mother. "Lois has no chances. If I don't show up with that ransom money, she dies. Period. I can't do that to poor Lois." He paused. "She's probably starving, sick, or even being tortured. She needs Superman's help, even if he's ill."

"Martha, let him go," Jonathan reasoned with his wife. "Hopefully, he'll be okay. Trust your son's judgment."

Martha sighed. "Well, I guess I'd better, because it seems as if you've already made up your mind, Clark." Clark nodded.

"Okay," Martha said finally. "Let's call a taxi for you. There's no way you're flying in your condition. I don't even think you _can_."

* * *

Lois Lane had never felt worse in her life. She still hadn't been fed anything, and she had given up trying to hold in her bathroom urges. _What I wouldn't give for a blanket, a cup of tea, a few thick biscuits, and a toilet, _she thought miserably, trembling in the corner of the dark room in the abandoned building on the edge of town. _If I get out of here, I'm going to take a week off of work to just shut myself up in my apartment and rest._

Lois had been transported from LexCorp to what seemed like an abandoned power plant, but she was still under heavy guard, her wrists and ankles tightly tied, and her mouth gagged. Every so often, a guard with a weapon came into the room, made sure she hadn't moved, and then left again.

Lois couldn't help but wonder if Superman was on his way. _I know he's saved hundreds of lives, and he's sick, but am I worth anything to him? _she wondered. _If he knew my life was in danger, would he come to help? _

She figured she'd find out soon enough. If she didn't die of hunger first.

* * *

Superman arrived at the Daily Planet building that evening around nine o' clock looking very pale and weak. He collapsed into a chair in Perry White's office and accepted a cup of coffee from Jimmy Olsen.

"We're very sorry about rousing you from bed, Superman," Perry apologized quickly. "But one of our reporters' lives is in danger, and we can't take any chances."

Superman nodded weakly. "I understand. I want to save Lois as much as you do. But I'm afraid I can't fly, and I don't have any strength."

"Hopefully, you won't need any," White told him. "All you need to do is to take this check to an old abandoned building at the age of town." He reached across his desk and handed Superman a yellow envelope. Superman opened it carefully; inside was a check for $500 million.

"Wow," Superman remarked quietly.

"Our publisher rounded the money up from investors," White remarked. "Hopefully, that check won't ever be cashed. But we can't take the chance."

Superman nodded. "When do I go?"

"Well, it's already dark out, so you could probably go right now. Just rest for a few minutes, try to get some strength, and then we'll call you a taxicab."

Superman laughed weakly. "It's probably the only way I have of getting over there."

* * *

Superman took a few sips of coffee—hopefully, he'd be able to keep it down—and followed up with several deep breaths. _Even if this kills me, I have to save Lois, _he thought to himself. _Just don't think about the pain. Focus on saving Lois._

Superman continued to take deep breaths as he walked slowly out of the Daily Planet building and into the waiting taxi. As he told the cab driver where to go, his entire body began to shake. He felt numbness first in his legs, and then in his chest…he had had this feeling before. He was about to get physically sick.

_Please, not now, _he begged weakly to himself, and twisted his body in the backseat of the cab so that he was lying down and looking up at the ceiling. He clutched his stomach painfully, as if cradling his stomachache would make the pain go away. _Lois, _he thought to himself, panting. _Think of Lois._

A flash of fever began to run through his body, and he felt lumps rise up in his throat. _I'm just nervous, _he thought. _That's all. I'm just nervous because I don't have my strength. But Lois is going to be all right; she has to be. Lois is a strong woman._

The cab ride lasted nearly an eternity. When the cab finally pulled to a slow halt, Superman gulped down the vomit rising in his throat, paid the cab driver, and took the envelope in his sweaty hand as he left the cab. He threw his shoulders back as powerfully as he could and entered the dark, two-story brick building that used to be some kind of power plant.

All he had to do was tape the ransom on the building's front door. But he couldn't just tape the ransom on the door and go; if Lois was there, he had to save her. He had to find her. And he had a feeling that she was there.

Working quietly, Superman attached the ransom envelope to the front door of the building, then used every ounce of strength in his body to push the door open. Miraculously, it slid open, and Superman slipped inside.

Looking first to the right and then to the left, Superman saw a dim light coming from the end of the left-side corridor. Instantly, the feeling of warmth in his body grew, but he knew why—he was pretty sure that Lois was down there. He had to find her.

Superman slid carefully down the dank corridor. The walls were made of brick, the floor was made out of dirt, and moss grew on the walls. "Lois?" he called out, his voice growing stronger and stronger as he moved towards the light at the end of the hallway. "_Lois_?"

"She's right here, Superman," came a distinctly familiar voice from down the hall, bellowing in an evil tone.

The ache in his stomach growing more and more profound, Superman sped up and forgot all about his illness as he rushed to the end of the corridor. The light was coming from a dirt-floored, brick-walled room: Lois was tied up in one of the back corners, thrown on the floor like a piece of cargo.

Standing in the center of the room was Lex Luthor.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: Remember, I don't own any of these characters.

**Author's Note**: Okay, so I'm really bad at writing these big action scenes, but I tried the best I could.

* * *

Upon seeing Lex, Superman drew himself up to his full height, completely ignoring all the pestering cramps throughout his entire body. "Where's Lois?" he demanded. "I came here, I brought your ransom, and now I want Lois."

Lex laughed. He was wearing one of his good suits and happened to be smoking a cigar. Clark couldn't stand his arrogance, and neither, he knew, could Lois. "She's right over there," he said gaily, pointing to Lois, who was still tied up on the floor in the corner. "Go and get her, Superman." He took some sort of remote-control like device out of his pocket and pressed a red button. "Oh, but first you have to get past my little obstacle," he added. "Don't worry, it'll be a cinch for you, Superman."

Without warning, black iron bars flew down from the ceiling and trapped Lois on the floor in a cage. Lex pressed another button on the remote control, and the bars started to change color. They were glowing green.

The bars were made of Kryptonite.

"Go get her," Lex laughed, slipping the remote control back in his pocket. He took a sly puff on his cigar, snapped his fingers, and disappeared toward the back of the room with two guards following him. "I'll be around if you need me," he called. "Release her, and you're both free to go."

Clark Kent had been raised to use clean language, but words could not express the anger, loathing, frustration, and hatred he felt towards Lex Luther right now. What kind of a person took advantage of someone else who was already weak? _Lex Luthor, that's who_, he thought bitterly.

Without thinking, Superman took a step toward the Kryptonite bars, only to develop severe pain in his stomach and in his head. Moaning, with both hands on his stomach, he dropped to the floor.

Lois, meanwhile, was frantically trying to free herself from the gag over her mouth. Seeing Superman suffer was just what she needed to snap herself out of her weakness. She couldn't let the man she loved suffer. Quickly, she started moving her head back and forth, trying to shake off the gag, but it was tied tight.

Superman, on all fours, tried to focus all thoughts on Lois, but his stomach and head hurt more and more as he traveled toward the Kryptonite. _Think of Lois_, he thought painfully to himself, his temperature rising. For a moment, he thought his fever would go so high he would explode into a thousand pieces, just like the thermometers Martha kept trying to slip under his tongue. _Sweet Lois. Who needs to be released._

Lois had finally succeeded in twisting the gag off. "I can't move my hands, Superman," she gasped. "I'm so weak, I can't…I can barely move at all. I really need your help. Just concentrate and keep moving forward!"

"I'm trying," Superman panted quietly, but the feelings of nausea were becoming too much for him.

"Concentrate," Lois pleaded.

Instead of concentrating, Superman held his stomach, turned to the side, and started throwing up.

Lois winced as she watched her secret love getting sick. "It's okay, everything's going to be okay," she called to Superman as soothingly as she could. "Take deep breaths. Get it all out. You'll feel better once you empty your system!"

_He can't do it, _she realized with a sinking feeling. _He's already so sick. This Kryptonite is going to kill him if he comes any closer._ She frantically started moving her hands to get out of her binds, but it was no use. She was too weak, and they were tied tight.

Clark, meanwhile, had never felt more humiliated as he threw up right in front of Lois. Even as Superman, it was embarrassing. Superman was supposed to be unstoppable, to be the hero. He wasn't supposed to get sick.

But Clark felt all right as soon as he heard her tell him it was okay. It was just like that dream he kept having, the one where the woman with long, wavy hair was rocking him to sleep. For all these years, he's imagined it was his birth mother back on Krypton, assuring him that everything would be all right. After he was done getting sick, he rested his head on the cool floor, then rose his aching head up again. "Say that again," he said quietly.

"Say _what_ again?"

"That it's all right. Tell me it'll be all right."

"It will, Superman," she said quietly. "Everything's going to be fine. I know you're sick, but we all get sick. Just concentrate. All you need to do is move a few more feet, bend these bars, and let me out. You can do it. Everything's going to be fine."

Lois' words somehow seemed to quell the side effects of the Kryptonite, at least temporarily. After taking deep breaths, Superman began to crawl forward on all fours again, only to get the same severe pains. Trying to ignore them, he kept crawling on…only to get that same feeling in his throat, the feeling he got whenever he needed to throw up. Superman lay down on the ground, trying to keep himself from throwing up again.

"Superman?" Lois called quietly. "Are you all right?"

Superman wasn't answering.

"_Superman_! Get up! Tell me that you're okay, or _at least_ move a muscle!"

The Man of Steel still wasn't moving. Lois began to panic. _What if he's dead?_ she thought anxiously. _What if he really did die from the Kryptonite? What do I do?_

Lois buried her face against the cold, dank dirt floor and began to cry. Not afraid of anyone who would overhear her, she began all-out sobbing in an effort to let all of her emotions out. It was hopeless; she would never be rescued, and Superman was going to die unless someone got him away from the Kryptonite.

As Lois continued to bawl, she heard the far door—the one Superman had come in from—burst open. In ran a bunch of black-cloaked figures wearing heavy masks and carrying large shields, with "S.W.A.T." emblazed on their clothing and equipment.

_The good, old-fashioned way of getting help by calling the police_, Lois thought as her body suddenly felt overcome by weakness due to hunger and fatigue once again. _Thanks, Chief. Thanks, Jimmy._

The last thing Lois saw before she passed out in the cage was Superman being loaded onto a stretcher.


	8. Chapter 8

****

Author's Note:

I don't own any of these characters.

* * *

Lois Lane lie in a bed at the Metropolis General Hospital, alive but weak. She had tubes funneling nutrients and medicine into her bloodstream, and a machine monitoring her heart rate and pulse. An arrangement of flowers sent over by Perry and some of her co-workers at the _Planet_ sat on her bedside table, the cheerful colors of the orange and pink tulips lifting her spirits a little bit—but not very much.

Lois had been a bit surprised when doctors had told her that she had been without food or water for nearly two days. "You're dehydrated. Your body needs nourished, _and_ we need to re-regulate your bladder. But in a few days, you'll be fine, Lois."

She nodded. "Where's Superman?" she asked the doctor in a half-panic. She knew she was going to be okay, but she didn't know about Superman. The last thing she remembered before she had passed out from hunger was Superman being loaded into a stretcher. She had never seen him so weak.

"Superman's fine," the doctor assured her, smiling. "He's recuperating just like you are. But unfortunately, you're going to be in the hospital for a lot longer than he is. Your system is more delicate than his." He fluffed her pillow. "Just relax and sleep, Lois. Everything's all right."

* * *

"Here you go, honey."

Martha Kent placed a bowl of clear broth in front of her son. Clark was lying on the sofa in his apartment wearing his warmest pajamas, wrapped in several blankets. He had just spent about a day in the hospital where he had regained some of his energy, then asked to be released. "As long as I'm not near any kryptonite, all I need is time," he told his doctor quietly. "And I know some people who are willing to take care of me."

"That's fine," his doctor told him. "When you can support your own weight out of bed, I'll have you released."

Clark had gone home to his apartment, where Jonathan and Martha had put their sick son to bed. "I called Perry, honey, and told him that you've been to the hospital for a second time," Martha soothed Clark, wiping his brow with a cool washcloth. He wasn't running a fever anymore, but he still felt warm to Martha. "He knows you're very sick and you're not fighting a normal bug. He just wants you to take your time, get better, and only go back to work when you're feeling well again."

"Thanks, Mom," Clark said quietly.

"Now, eat your soup. When you've been sick to your stomach, Clark, you need to follow a bland diet for a couple of days. It's better for your system."

Clark nodded. "Okay, Mom."

"Jonathan, I need to run to the store. We're going to need crackers, plain pasta, rice, applesauce…things that are easy for him to keep down."

"Don't forget some ginger ale, Martha. We're almost out."

"Okay. I'll be back in a little while, Clark. You just sip your soup and rest."

Clark took another spoonful of his mother's broth. It was just water flavored with beef bouillon, but it was easy for an upset stomach to keep down. He was feeling a lot better—he hadn't thrown up in a while, so he had no more Kryptonite in his system—but he was exhausted with fatigue. His parents kept telling him that he'd be back to normal before he knew it.

_At least_, Clark thought as he relaxed on the sofa, _I was able to save Lois. Sure, it made me sick again, but it was worth it if I saved Lois._ Lex Luthor, meanwhile, was wanted by the police, but he seemed to have disappeared. There had been neither hide nor hair of him spotted in days. Clark didn't understand why someone with Lex's money and power would want to throw it all away by kidnapping Lois, but that was the decision Lex had made, and Clark couldn't question it now. He had always known Luthor would be up to no good.

_Lois_. Deep down, he felt a funny feeling in his stomach, but this time, he knew it had nothing to do with illness. Deep down, he knew he had feelings for her.

Carefully, Clark picked up the phone and dialed the Metropolis General Hospital.

"Metropolis General. How can I direct your call?"

"Yes, I'd like to speak to Lois Lane. She's a patient in room 617."

"Let me see if Miss Lane is allowed to take phone calls."

As Clark was placed on hold, he got a funny feeling in his stomach; the same funny feeling you got when you were super nervous. _I hope she's okay, _he gulped to himself.

Lois must have been allowed to take phone calls, because before he knew it, he heard her voice on the other end of the line. "Hello?" she asked quietly.

"Lois?" Clark asked tenderly. "It's Clark Kent. I heard you were in the hospital, so I wanted to call and see how you were doing."

"Clark!" Lois exclaimed quietly. "Clark, how are _you_ feeling? I haven't heard from you in quite sometime!"

Clark sighed. "Have you ever been sick and thought you were feeling better, only to get worse and have to go to the hospital again?"

"Clark, you were in the hospital _again_?" Lois asked, concerned.

Clark sighed. "Yes. Stomach problems," he said bitterly. "It's a really bad bug. Not a normal kind of flu. I hope you never catch it."

"Well, I hope you're feeling better soon, Clark. I'm okay," she added. "Just a date gone bad," she added, trying to laugh. "Superman stepped in. I just need some quick medical attention."

"Okay. Well, I'm feeling kind of tired, so I need to take a nap," said Clark quietly. "I'll be back to work in a few days."

"Me too. See you then. And Clark?"

"Yeah?"

"When's the last time you've been in contact with Superman?"

"He's recovering back on my parents' farm," Clark fibbed. "He's going to be all right. Just too much Kryptonite, is all."

"Tell him thank you for me." Clark heard her pause. "And thank _you_ for calling," she added.

Even though she couldn't see him back in his apartment, Clark smiled. "You're welcome, Lois."


End file.
